OK I’m back.

All apologies to you, my readers, for the huge gap between Penny’s birth back in June and now. Frantic summer that we all had to adjust to our new life with the newborn. My wife and I had a pretty good and easy time adjusting to having Penny home. For the first month or so she slept great. Could put her down anywhere. We attribute the breast milk AND the exhausting NICU/preemie ordeal as the possible reason for that. As the milk ran out we went to formula and she was still a great sleeper, especially at night so we got decent hours of night-time slumber. The main hurdle of the summer was one particular little lady.

I exaggerate. Maddie is a super-duper big sister. She LOVES her baby sister–Adores her in fact. She’s always asking how she is and if she see her closer for hugs and kisses. She is still thanking us for bringing her home from the hospital. She was a wee bit ‘scared’ of her at first, by that, I mean scared to hold her or have her sit in her lap. Totally expected but slowly but surely she’s gaining more confidence with holding or sitting with Penny.

Whether its Maddie’s age or the fact that she’s no longer the main attraction she did test us a ton this summer. Acting up, being rude, disobedience, extra stubbornness and refusal to go potty at key times during the day. Bedtimes became hectic and some dinners were nightmares. At the time we were banging our heads against the wall but we slowly realized that its a phase we must wait out and frankly, she is still better behaved than most kids we see so we shouldn’t sweat it so much. Now she’s calmed down and better adjusted to her new life. We did try our best to help her too by doing more things just the three of us. We went to the Camden Aquarium, saw the latest Ice Age movie, went to Sesame Place and other mall outings and such.

However the biggest adjustment for Maddie was adjusting to an active and healthy Mommy. When my wife was pregnant and on bed-rest for practically 2 months she could barely interact with Maddie. It took its toll on their relationship in a way we weren’t expecting. After Penny was born Maddie was still distant and somewhat cold to my wife. It was very sad and hard on her that Maddie still would rather have me do things for her and only play with her. Now we know it wasn’t a preference based on love and affection because Maddie would say things like “No, Mommy, you need to rest (or stay in bed).” So we knew she just assumed my wife was incapable. It took some time and many girls’ only outings to get Maddie to get accustomed back to having two parents again but we’re all back to normal in that regard.

In 2 weeks I will have the biggest adjustment of them all. A Stay-at-Home Dad with TWO kids! Am I nervous? Hell’s yeah! Do I think I will lose my mind? That’s a possibility. Will it really be that bad? Depends but I do know this: Whatever bad days I go through, they will pale in comparison to the melancholy my wife will have to endure going back to work after a 5-month hiatus, spending all this good quality time with her family and her new adorable baby and missing them dearly everyday.

I cannot complain too much, I know. In the long run, I have the dream job and I know I am very fortunate to be able to do what I do on a daily basis.

So, I hope to write more in the coming months but don’t be surprised by my lack of posts since I will literally have my hands full this autumn and winter.